Daily Links Jun 5

Is climate change our World War III or our ‘humans on the moon by the end of the decade’. When JFK committed to the latter, almost no-one thought it possible. We have to think winning World War III is not only possible but just has to be done.

As climate change continues to make headlines globally, an ambitious group of leaders from Asia-Pacific nations, states, regions, territories and cities gathered in Brisbane today and committed to ramping up efforts on climate action.

Better understanding agriculture and the food system’s unique place in climate change — as both drivers of climate change and victims of it — is helping to increase support for climate action. Unfortunately, progress across the food system is lagging, according to a new analysis.

Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, shrugged off a big fall in the software company’s share price Tuesday morning – which wiped around a billion dollars from his personal wealth – as he advocated for Australia’s future as a clean energy giant.

The main lobby group representing Australia’s electricity and gas networks has renewed its push to hit households exporting solar back to the grid with additional grid charges – to the horror of some consumer groups and industry experts.

The NSW Supreme Court will this week hear argument against a controversial government-approved aerial rat baiting for World Heritage Listed Lord Howe Island which has ignited a fiery debate and even fights among locals.

Just days after the construction arm of the CFMMEU told Annastacia Palaszczuk she “risked being taken for a ride” by Adani if she rushed to approve the project, the union’s mining and energy division is asking to be rewarded by the miner.

The timing of the “climate reality training” event headed by former US vice president Al Gore is proving very inconvenient for the state government, which has been forced to fast-track Adani’s approvals.

Nearly all the kelp growing along the east coast of Tasmania has been wiped out due to the rising temperatures of the world’s oceans. But scientists have discovered a way to regenerate the seaweed, and reverse global warming in the process.

We have learnt to be wary of big data, but it can also be your friend: one platform combines and analyses data about housing, jobs and transport to reveal very useful information about living in Perth.

The use of plastic to make recorded music has plummeted since streaming came along. But greenhouse gas emissions have actually increased, according to a recent study, suggesting new challenges for music fans and platforms.

Poisonous heavy metals contaminating thousands of sites nationwide threaten to enter the food chain, and there’s been no easy way to remove them. An experimental chemical bath and electrochemical filter could now extract heavy metals from the soil and leave fields safe.

Population growth is threatening efforts to save Southern Resident killer whales, whose decline is not being treated with the urgency the crisis demands, officials said in a task force meeting in Washington state Monday.